Difficulty: Hard. Trail that has some inclines and uneven slopes with soft, rocky or uneven terrain for about one mile total. Bring 1-2 liters of water.
We’ll spend the early morning exploring the Florida Canyon area on the west slopes of the Santa Rita Mountains. There, we will hike along the local Florida Canyon Trail as well as birding at local areas in the canyon as well as in the adjacent Santa Rita Experimental Range grassland operated by University of Arizona, with some sites not usually accessible by birders. Birds more likely to be encountered in Florida Canyon include Gray Hawk, Acorn Woodpecker, Bridled Titmouse, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, Black-headed Grosbeak, and Varied Bunting. This canyon has also had several rare birds in the past such as Nutting’s Flycatcher and Rufous-capped Warbler, and while we should not expect to see these birds, it’s always fun to dream. Afterwards, we are planning on exploring some of the adjacent grassland areas of the Santa Rita Experimental Range on our way out. Species that we might expect to see in these grasslands include Botteri’s and Cassin’s Sparrows, Crissal Thrasher, Scaled Quail, and Chihuahuan Meadowlark. Drive time to initial meeting location from festival venue is about 60 minutes, specific meeting instructions will be emailed beforehand. Limited to 8 participants.
Bridled Titmouse, John Hoffman